Summer Ṛtucaryā (Ritu-charia):
What It Is and Why It Matters
Āyurveda - The ancient study of life teaches us about living in accordance with nature. Ṛtu - means "season," and an understanding of the expected changes in the environment and how these affect us underlies the efficacy of seasonal routines. In the same way that Doṣa-s are more active at times of day that exhibit similar qualities to them, seasons can increase and decrease the Doṣa-s and their qualities.
Summer is a season of heat, often accompanied by dryness or humidity depending on where you live. Regardless of the climate, sunshine and warmth dominate. The sun’s heat evaporates moisture, making summer naturally drying for both the earth and the body—especially through sweating, which can dehydrate tissues. In coastal areas, the added humidity creates a heavier, more oppressive atmosphere.
Think of how the body feels after too much sun exposure—tired, depleted, and overheated. This gives a clear sense of how intense heat can weaken the system. To avoid imbalances associated with Pitta Doṣa, which accumulates in hot weather, it is essential to stay cool and maintain internal moisture. Without this care, you may experience symptoms such as skin irritation, acid indigestion, irritability, swelling, and heat-related discomfort. These effects often build gradually, becoming more pronounced as the season progresses.
During summer, Agni disperses throughout the body, reducing its intensity in the stomach. As a result, appetite often decreases, and heavy or oily foods can be difficult to digest and may block the body’s internal channels. If you naturally have more fire element (Pitta), summer can leave you feeling fatigued and quick to anger. On the other hand, those with a cooler constitution (Vāta, Kapha) may feel more energized and at ease. It is also worth noting that in places where people rely heavily on air conditioning, the indoor air becomes especially dry, which can subtly affect the body’s internal balance.
Daily Routine (Dinacaryā)
Indoor Environment
- Ensure that your air conditioning unit is clean.
- Use Nasya (Nasal oil application) if your nasal passages feel dry.
Sun Exposure
- Avoid the midday sun.
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat to keep the head cool and prevent headaches.
- End showers with a thirty-second cool rinse, especially over the head and back of the neck.
Digestion and Meal Timing
- Heat exits through the digestive tract and skin, so keep both channels clear. Avoid overeating, heating foods, and alcohol.
- Consider having a larger breakfast before the day heats up and a moderate dinner after the heat subsides.
- To help remove internal heat and reduces symptoms like swelling and acid reflux, favour fruits, vegetables, and light, easy-to-digest foods.
Skin and Body Care
- Avoid antiperspirants, heavy creams, and conventional body oils as they block pores the release heat.
- Reduce intake of garlic and onion to keep the body cooler and minimize body odour.
Cooling Remedies
- Use coconut oil for massage to remove heat and protect against dryness and sun damage.
- Use Neem-infused coconut oil in dry, hot climates for added cooling benefits.
- In extremely humid conditions skip oiling, take a cool bath or shower and use Aloe Vera gel instead of oil.
Exercise
In summer, preserve your strength and limit activities that increase heat, such as exercise classes in hot rooms, jogging under the sun, and vigorous cardio. Get in the habit of doing an exercise routine in the early morning, before the day heats up. Keep it cool with walks near water or in the woods, swimming, and slow yoga. Be sure to enjoy a cool, not iced, drink after exercise.
Diet
The purpose of adjusting our diet to the seasons is to stay present, understand how seasonal changes affect the body, and respond with appropriate foods that nature provides. Just as the earth retains more water from the spring rains, the body also holds on to more moisture during this time. These excess fluids, combined with increased physical activity in spring, help flush out seasonal toxins.
Spring’s naturally lower-fat harvest, along with this heightened activity, pushes the body to increase fat metabolism. The moisture of spring softens bodily tissues, giving better access to stored fat, and thus, fat metabolism naturally accelerates
Summer is a season of high energy, and it demands energy-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and other carbohydrates. If spring eating has supported fat metabolism properly, fat continues to serve as a stable energy source throughout the summer. This allows the body to stay balanced as carbohydrate intake rises. However, if the body has not been conditioned to burn fat in the spring, it will struggle to adapt, leading to a reliance on quick-burning sugars and resulting in cravings for emergency fuel.
The summer harvest is rich in high-carb, high-sugar foods. If blood sugar was not stabilized during spring through proper fat metabolism, then fluctuations—such as hypoglycemia, fatigue, and mood disturbances—become more likely. To avoid these imbalances, it is essential to understand how nature prepares and protects us. Just as winter provides cool relief from summer’s heat, and spring offers moisture after a cold, dry winter, summer’s heat completes the cycle by drying up the excess moisture and mucus accumulated in spring.
In general:
- Favour foods that are cool and liquid. Minimize foods that are hot.
- Favour foods that are sweet, bitter, or astringent. Minimize foods that create heat (spicy, salty, or sour).
Some Specific Summer Food Recommendations:
Dairy: Milk, butter, and ghee are good. Reduce yogurt, salty cheese, sour cream, and cultured buttermilk (their sour tastes aggravate summer qualities). Non-homogenized milk is best.
Sweeteners: All unrefined sweeteners are good except honey and molasses.
Oils: Olive, soy, sunflower, and coconut oils are best. Reduce sesame, almond, and corn oils, all of which increase summer qualities.
Grains: Wheat, white rice, barley, and oats are good. Reduce corn, rye, millet, and brown rice.
Fruits: Favour sweet fruits, such as grapes, cherries, melons, avocados, coconuts, pomegranates, mangos, and sweet, fully ripened oranges, pineapples, and plums. Reduce sour fruits, such as grapefruit, unripe olives, papayas, and unripe pineapples and plums.
Vegetables: Favour asparagus, cucumbers, potatoes, green leafy vegetables, pumpkins, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, okra, lettuce, beans, green beans, zucchini. Reduce hot peppers, unripe tomatoes, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, radishes, and spinach.
Spices: Coriander, mint, cardamom, and fennel are all right. But the following spices strongly increase heat and should be taken only in small amounts: ginger, cumin, black pepper, fenugreek, clove, celery seed, salt, and mustard seed. Chili peppers and cayenne should be avoided.
Meat and Fish (For Non-vegetarians): Since meat and heavier flesh foods produce heat, emphasize lighter flesh foods. Chicken, pheasant, and turkey are preferable to beef, lamb, and other red meat. Eat white-flesh, freshwater fish like trout or sole rather than heavier, deep-sea fish or shellfish, as the sea salt will heat the body. Egg yolks increase heat and should be eaten in moderation. Do not bother separating egg whites from yolks, though. Despite what many nutritionists say about egg yolks being a source of cholesterol, the yolk also contains lecithin, which helps keep cholesterol liquid in the bloodstream and ultimately reduces cholesterol levels. And as with milk, the egg is a whole food that is better consumed whole or avoided altogether. Once you start taking nature apart, you generally run into trouble. The real cause of cholesterol, as we have seen, is stress and the sedentary life that allows our lymph to stagnate. Free radicals in the lymphatic system oxidate the fats, which lodge in the arterial walls and create life-threatening plaque.
If you would like to explore how Yoga Therapy and Āyurveda can help you stay balanced during the summer months, I invite you to connect with me for a one-on-one session. Together, we can create seasonal routines that support your unique constitution.
May your summer season be full of balance, prosperity and joy!
